<div>
<div class="content wysiwyg-content">
Is there any reason in a small network (72 odd ethernet ports) to choose Trunking over Stacking of switches that support either method.<br />
<br />
I am looking at replacing 3 Netgear FE Switches with 3 Netgear GB switches and have experience in setting up both trunking and stacking.<br />
<br />
Why choose one over the other?<br />
<br />
I am looking at the Netgear GS724TS which is L3 Managed and stackable via the 24 GB/s ports at the rear. &nbsp;One benefit is if I add extra switches, the Netgear will update all devices to the latest version of Firmware from any device that has a later release. &nbsp;I note also that with looping the stackable connections, it provides redundancy in the event a switch fails prevent other switches from being impacted. &nbsp;Another benefit is the fact the stackng port is 24 GB/s whereas trunked linking consumes ports for each additional port assicgned to the trunk.
</div>
</div>


Is there any reason in a small network (72 odd ethernet ports) to choose Trunking over Stacking of switches that support either method.

I am looking at replacing 3 Netgear FE Switches with 3 Netgear GB switches and have experience in setting up both trunking and stacking.

Why choose one over the other?

I am looking at the Netgear GS724TS which is L3 Managed and stackable via the 24 GB/s ports at the rear.  One benefit is if I add extra switches, the Netgear will update all devices to the latest version of Firmware from any device that has a later release.  I note also that with looping the stackable connections, it provides redundancy in the event a switch fails prevent other switches from being impacted.  Another benefit is the fact the stackng port is 24 GB/s whereas trunked linking consumes ports for each additional port assicgned to the trunk.

Switches - Stackable vs Trunking why one over the other

Network design and methodology, also known as network architecture, is the design of a communication network. It is a framework for the specification of a network's physical components and their functional organization and configuration, its operational principles and procedures, as well as data formats used in its operation. In telecommunication, the specification of a network architecture may also include a detailed description of products and services delivered via a communications network, as well as detailed rate and billing structures under which services are compensated.

Network Architecture

A switch is a device that filters and forwards packets of data between LAN segments. Switches operate at the data link layer or the network layer of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) Reference Model and therefore support any packet protocol. LANs that use switches to join segments are called switched LANs or, in the case of Ethernet networks, switched Ethernet LANs. A hub is a connection point for devices in a network. Hubs are commonly used to connect segments of a LAN. A hub contains multiple ports; when a packet arrives at one port, it is copied to the other ports so that all segments of the LAN can see all packets.